Poetry has been used for centuries as a means to explore emotions and complex ideas through language, though individuals express similar ideas in wholly different forms. One such idea that has been explored through poetry in numerous ways is that of war and the associated loss, grief, and suffering. Two noted Australian poets shown to have accomplished this are Kenneth Slessor with his work ‘Beach Burial’ and John Schumann’s ‘I Was Only Nineteen’. Both of these works examine the complexities of conflict, but with somewhat different attitudes.
Slessor is one of Australia’s most famous modern poets, and is well remembered as the driving force behind modernist poetry techniques in Australia. He was employed as a war correspondent throughout the
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Published in 1944, the poem itself is an elegy, addressing the melancholy and sorrow of wartime death, as indicated by the title ‘Beach Burial’. This title gives clear meaning to the sombre nature of the work, and the enigmatic nature of it holds the attention of the audience. The entirety of the poem is strewn with poetic devices, such as personification of dead sailors as “…they sway and wander in the waters far under”, the words inscribed on their crosses being choked, and the “sob and clubbing of the gunfire” (Slessor). Alliteration is used to great effect in lines such as that describing the soldiers being “bur[ied]…in burrows” and simile in the likening of the epitaph of each seaman to the blue of drowned men’s lips and onomatopoeia is shown in the “purple drips” (Slessor). The predominant mood of the work is ephemeral, with various references to the transient nature of humanity. The ethereal adjectives used to describe and characterise objects within the poem allow a more abstract interpretation of what would normally be concrete in meaning. The rhythm of this piece is markedly similar to the prevalent concept of tidal ebb and flow, with lines falling into an ABCB rhyme scheme and concepts …show more content…
He drew inspiration from his brother-in-law, whose experiences during the Vietnam War are the basis for the song’s narrative. The song is thus a narrative style confession, and the title is significant in that it summarises the central theme of regret found throughout the writing. The subtitle (A Walk In The Light Green) describes the dangerous treks through lightly forested areas, where landmines were found most prominently during the Vietnam campaign. Perhaps the most powerful poetic device used in this writing is that of point-of-view, this being the retelling of the story from a first person perspective, allowing profound understanding of the inner thoughts of the character. Working in conjunction with this powerful medium is the shift between present and past tense in the verses and chorus of the song. Transitioning from a recollection of the “long march from cadets” to a plea as to “why [he] still can’t get to sleep?” (Schumann) juxtaposes the horrors of war with the mundane reality of civilian life. The meter of the poem stresses many consecutive short words, such as “…young and strong and clean…with my SLR and greens” and “…mud and blood and tears” and the rhyming scheme changes throughout the song between ABCB, ABAB and ABBB. This change contributes to the
Therefore, it may be said that the writing of poetry differs from poet to poet depending on their individual personal experiences. As well as this, the cultural and social context of the country in which they are living is a factor in determining how an individual poet chooses to write. After analysing two famous poems written by Australian poet Kenneth Slessor, it became blatantly obvious that his poetry was influenced by his experiences as war correspondent in the Second World War. The theme of death – namely, its absolute power –and the questioning of the human existence that are evident in his poetry were very much written as a result of his own personal experience and opinion on the topics.
Many war pieces express a distinct sense of truth, hatred, and anger that can be found in the style, tone, and imagery they possess. Incredible images are created in ones mind as war writings are read and heard. Works written by such writers as Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, and Tim OBrien really reach out to the audience by way of the authors choice of words and images that they use in their writing. These talented writers create very touching and heart-felt images as they write about the true occurrences, problems, feelings and emotions that soldiers encountered throughout times of war. It is by way of these writers words that the bloody truth of war is heard, rather than the glorified victories heard which overlook the pain that soldiers went through.
In conclusion, depending on the position from which one views war, the standpoint may vary ranging from being supportive of the soldiers because those who die are dying for the country or they are completely unsupportive of war activities because it is a brutal and gruesome experience involving countless unnecessary injuries and deaths. Affected by a number of factors, the authors of the two poems have chosen opposing standpoints on the issue of war where Tennyson glorified it with the main message that it is an honour to die for one's country whereas the other, Owen suppresses the idea of war by illustrating all the horrid experiences of a soldier.
Throughout the times war has effected people immensely both physically and mentally. All people deal with their circumstances differently to help cope with what they dealing with. Whether it’s a fatality in the family, or post traumatic stress disorder most people find a way to heal from injury or emotional damage. In Brian Turners poem, “Phantom Noise,” he writes about the constant ringing he hears from the war he served in. The poem expresses that Turner seems to deal with his emotional damage by writing poetry about what he feels, hears, and sees during the time he spent in war and in civilian life. Even though Turner is no longer in war it still effects him greatly each day. The overall tone of the poem is very solemn and makes the reader
The deafening sound of shelling and the rattling of gun fire seeing your fellow brother fall before your feet the grim life to live during World War One. Wilfred Owens, another man thrown into a war in the nation’s time of need. Many would clam up and keep to themselves after the war, but not Wilfred. He was a renounced poet, and while he was bunkered down from gunfire or shelling, he found time to write his experiences and the poetry everyone has to come to know. He wrote much of his poetry on the stance of the war and the horrors of being in the middle of it. He has written many plays and poems, many of which were in the trenches bunkering down and in a hospital. His journal full of his work of war was also filled with nature and life itself within the pages of poetry. His poetry, being mostly from the time he was at war, is not the only pieces he had written in his lifetime.
Poetry is the written expression of feelings and ideas which is given passion by the use of distinctive language style. War poetry is written to communicate experiences, or a pacifist who write poems about war. The severe poem Homecoming by Bruce Dawe and the empathetic ‘The Falling leaves by Margaret Postgate Cole are both written from the perspective of someone who is not on the battlefield. They utilise a variety of imagery and literary features to further emphasize the deeper significance of war while conveying the message that war is wasting young soldiers lives and brings much suffering and grief to family and friends. Dawe and Cole have similar perspectives of death and delve into how war affects others. However, the gender of the poets
Olds and Owen both exhibit horrendous aspects of war in their poems. While Owen uses a soldier to convey his thoughts, and Olds makes use of a civilian, the techniques and methods that both poets use are comparable. Owen skillfully creates tragic, heartbreaking images and makes use of figurative language and words that are unforgettable as they linger and haunt. In addition to this, his extensive use and wide-range of punctuation only serves as to reinforce the atmosphere of war. Olds also constructs vivid images and employs similar techniques as Owen. Owen takes it one step further, however, and creates a more intense and dramatic atmosphere that serves to produce a more effective poem.
I know you’ve been skeptical of putting poetry into the Rugby Review, but I believe that this poem is worthy to be the first. Because at some point in our lives, we will all have to come to terms with death and this poem speaks to that experience. In “Death of a Young Son by Drowning”`, Margaret Atwood writes about a mother trying to cope with the loss of her son. The emphasis on the youth of the child makes us feel even more sympathetic towards the speaker. Atwood tackles death, a subject that we all, as living beings, struggle to understand. She sees death, however, less as an absolute end but more as a beginning and a chance for rebirth and renewal. The poem begins with an allusion to the son’s birth and ends as he is planted into the ground as a seed. As readers, we cannot help but feel sadness for the mother who is lost in grief and despair as her son enters into a world that she cannot understand. Towards the son, however, we feel something completely different and in him, we can see the ambition and audacity in the youth of our generation. Just like the broken thought process of a grieving mother, the poem is written in short stanzas made up of three lines. Each stanza introduces a new thought, except for the last couplet that stands on its own, just like a flag. In conjunction with Atwood’s metaphor of a voyage at sea, the poem reads with a rhythm of ocean waves.
War has a way of changing the mentality of many soldiers. Whether you are at war for your country or at war in society, sometimes it may seem like your fighting a never ending battle. In Allen Ginsberg’s poem “America” and in Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem “Facing It”, they talk about war and what they were facing at that moment in time. Ginsberg and Yusef both have different attitudes about war and their country. These poets share many similarities in their poems, but yet they also have many differences as well
The powerful poem ‘Weapons Training’ showcases a sergeant, through malicious words, guiding his troops. However it is through ‘Homecoming’, where Dawe exposes the brutal hopelessness brought forth by the futility of war. Therefore it can be seen that war has an emotional toll on both families and the soldiers. Both poems have a recurring message that all war does is bring loss, death and mourning, showcasing Dawes strong opinions about a futile
I think from the attitude of the diver, he was suicidal. As he dove into the sea, he does so at a high speed and with reckless abandon, taking to account all the details of everything he sees as he plunged deeper into the sea. “swiftly descended/free falling, weightless”. He was doing all he could to forget about life as he descends “…. Lost images/fadingly remembered.” Initially in his descent into the ocean, the diver, having decided to end his life, treated the images in the sea as if they would be the last things he will see before his death, so I think he thought it best to savor his last moments while he had the time. When he got to the ship, he described all that was there. While I read the poem, I couldn’t help but conjure those images in my mind. The ship was very quiet and cold when he entered it but the silence drew him in and he was eager to go in, not minding the cold because at that moment he was suicidal and didn’t care about life. With the help of a flashlight, he saw chairs moving slowly and he labeled the movement as a “sad slow dance”. From this, I think the speaker is trying to point out that there are sad memories on the ship. There is no story of how the ship got to the bottom of the sea, but it seems the ship used to be a place of fun, celebration, and happiness. Now that it is wrecked and in the bottom of the sea, the
In conclusion, Whitman’s poem conveys the interference of war in relationships, work, and happiness. The poem’s use of iambic heptameter gives the reader not only the understanding of the rhythm of the war drums, but the gratification of hearing and feeling the thumps and blows when spoken aloud. The poem’s use of forceful war diction and repetition leaves a lasting impression of the magnitude of war’s disruption from the country to the city, in the men, the families, and the people of the community. The cry of the people is no match for the war cry of the drums and bugles, and ultimately the rhythm of the war drums and bugles will play until there are no men fighting left.
Within this poem Bruce Dawe dramatizes the homecoming of Australian veterans' bodies from Vietnam. This is clearly an anti-war poem, reproducing the sentiments of those who opposed the time when this war occurred.
The poets studied this year have explored a variety of different themes throughout their poetry, using a number of techniques to accentuate these ideas. The issues that are addressed evoke the emotions of anger, awe and distress in the reader. W.H Auden’s poem ‘Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone’ explores muted anger throughout as the speaker grieves the death of a loved one. Similarly, Wilfred Owen’s poems of and ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ express anger in his response to Jessie Pope’s poem, ‘The Call’. Alternatively, William Shakespeare and Pablo Neruda both explore their awe of a loved one where as Bruce Dawe and Wilfred Owen convey their distress by explaining the deaths of soldiers at war. The techniques of metaphors, commands, setting
Owen’s poem uses symbolism to bring home the harsh reality of war the speaker has experienced and forces the reader to think about the reality presented in romanticized poetry that treats war gently. He utilizes language that imparts the speakers experiences, as well as what he, his companions, and the dying man feels. People really die and suffer and live through nightmares during a war; Owen forcefully demonstrates this in “Dulce et Decorum Est”. He examines the horrific quality of World War I and transports the reader into the intense imagery of the emotion and experience of the speaker.